Who set out the 12 principles of animation?

Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas

 

The 12 principles of animation are:

 

Squash and Stretch

 

How does squash and stretch help make characters appear more realistic?

As it gives the illusion of weight and volume as they move around. 

 

Anticipation

 

Why does it make it more believable to add anticipation to the actions of animated characters?

So it can set the audience up that a live action is about to have right in front of them. Also it can show when the person is about to move.

 

Staging

 

Why is it important to take care about the positioning of characters and actions in the frame? 

As it can create a balanced feel of the character and its surroundings if it's to one side of the frame but if it’s anywhere else it'll be unbalanced and make the scene a bit confusing.

 

Straight Ahead & Pose to Pose 

 

In traditional hand-drawn animation, what are the advantages of choosing ‘straight ahead’ animation rather than working ‘pose to pose’?

An advantage would be that Straight Ahead will be done frame by frame so they are drawing every frame before the next whereas Pose to Pose starts the drawings start to finish and then gets filled in later on which can get confusing.

 

Follow Through and Overlapping Action

 

In what ways do ‘follow through’ and ‘overlapping action’ mimic the way things move in the real world?

As things don’t just follow what the character does as things need to catch up on the movement and momentum of what the character does. Different objects move at different rates so therefore they can mimic the real world.

Slow In and Slow Out

 

Why does it seem more realistic to frame most movements with a slow in and slow out?

As it shows the acceleration and braking of an object which creates realism as that's how speed works in real life. For example; at the beginning there would be more frames as it accelerates into the action.

 

Arc

 

How can it help your animation to use arcs to describe the motion paths of your characters and their movements?

As it would make the animation more smoother and cleaner rather than be jittery from point A to B.

 

Secondary Action

 

Why should you add secondary actions to animated characters?

As it creates more depth on what the character is doing which creates a more realistic/dramatic scene giving the illusion of life itself.

 

Timing

 

How can it affect the meaning of characters’ actions to change the timing?

Because if the scene was dramatic it wouldn't be a fast set time, it would be slow and sinister creating effects to the audience that something bad is going to happen.

 

Exaggeration

 

How can exaggeration help make your characters become more believable?

As it creates a personality of your character and how they would react to certain situations.

 

Solid Drawing

 

What is meant by the term ‘solid drawing’ and why is it important for animators?

Solid drawing refers to 3D dimensional drawings in a 2D space. It gives weight, depth and balance to the characters' expressions.

 

Appeal

 

Why is it important to think about the ‘appeal’ of a character - and what do we mean by ‘appeal’ in terms of animation?

As it shows the characters realism and characteristic which will make us feel for them and remember them when the animation is over. Appeal is the visual of what the character looks like and does.